Your rugby evening headlines for Monday, August 22.
Lewis pops up at Bristol
Exiled Welsh flanker Sam Lewis has popped up at Bristol Bears after being released by Worcester Warriors at the end of last season.
Openside Lewis was showing real promise when he upped sticks and left the Ospreys for the Sixways outfit back in 2015. In signing fresh deals at the Premiership club, he made himself ineligible for international call-ups despite displaying talent that suggested he would be good enough in his earlier days.
He made over 100 appearances for the Warriors and is dubbed one of the best uncapped players in the league, with his departure earlier this year raising eyebrows.
READ MORE: Olly Robinson playing semi-pro after once being a key member of Cardiff's pack
Now, though, Bristol Post report that he was involved in Bristol Bears' pre-season tune-up against Brive last Friday night. They say that he is not under any contract with the club and just training with them. However, the Post also point out that the likes of Niyi Adeolokun have earned themselves a contract in the past after originally just turning up to train.
The openside is also reported to be waiting on offers from USA and Japan.
Haskell defends under-fire Jones
Former England back-rower James Haskell has come out in defence of Eddie Jones and hit back at Clive Woodward's criticism.
Four wins out of 10 in the last two Six Nations campaigns has piled the pressure on Jones as the game heads into the World Cup year, and a defeat in the first Test in Australia did little to ease things. There were plenty people calling for Jones to lose his job but England turned it around and won the summer series 2-1.
Jones then invited more criticism when he suggested that public schools in England were not equipping aspiring professional rugby player with the leadership traits that they'd need in the elite arena. That drew a fierce reaction, including from World Cup-winning boss Woodward, who regularly speaks out against the incumbent England boss.
Speaking to The Mirror, Haskell said: "It's a hard one for me because the only person who appears to never be happy when Eddie Jones is doing well is Clive Woodward," he continued. "I don't know what it is about him, but he just seems to come after Eddie for everything. I find it very bizarre.
"Clive hasn't coached in rugby since 2005 and really has no concept of what's going on in the setup. He's desperate to sort of pick this job up between Eddie and the RFU —a sort of performance director role—and he's never going to get it [no matter how hard he tries]. I find it astounding really."
Worcester owners issue statement
The owners of Worcester Warriors have spoken out amid reports that the club is on the verge of administration.
Worcester are in disarray with the season fast approaching. A winding up petition has been issued to the club over unpaid tax which is rumoured to be as much as £6 million.
The clubs accounts for 2020 showed it owed £2.3 million in tax and the accounts for last year are now overdue.
Meanwhile, players have been left in the lurch, with young English talent Ollie Lawrence taking to social media to vent his frustration. After initially tweeting an emoji of a cowboy, the centre added: "Before anyone decides to state/complain that I’m slating the reputation of the people that pay our wages… I’m really not! They invested in the club & tried to “create change” so can’t fault that.
"But Cecil Duckworth created a legacy for this club, and that is close to being tarnished currently. There just comes a point where people’s careers, livelihoods and families are being affected. Which I believe that should be answered for (sic).
"I have nothing but respect for the whole players and staff (sic) for continuing to pitch up everyday with all this uncertainty… The rumour mill will continue, but it’s above us now as to what happens, but for now we’ll crack on as a team and wait to see what unfolds."
In a statement, owners Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring said: “There has been much speculation & rumour circulating in the media and among our supporters about the future of Worcester Warriors. Over the past week a lot of work has been done away from the media spotlight to try to navigate the club through the challenges that we currently face.
"That work continues, discussions are on-going and we are reviewing the options available to the club. We continue to work closely with HMRC, Premiership Rugby, the RFU and DCMS to find the best solution to the situation. We are very grateful for the support these organisations have shown to the club. "We are now working through a number of options with our advisors.
"These include solutions for keeping rugby at Sixways and we will communicate further as soon as a decision has been finalised. We are grateful to our staff, supporters, partners, sponsors and suppliers for their commitment, loyalty and support during what has been a difficult period for all involved in the club.
"We also greatly appreciate the messages of concern and support that we have received from across the rugby world and the wider sporting community."
Boks give duo another chance
Joseph Dweba and Duane Vermeulen have kept their place in South Africa's starting XV despite being hooked before half time in the defeat to the All Blacks at Ellis Park a fortnight ago.
Dweba, largely considered to be the third choice hooker at the Boks' disposal, kept the in-form Malcolm Marx out of the side in Johannesburg but was replaced after an unconvincing start to the match. Vermeulen, just coming back from injury, was in a similar position.
But both have been named in the starting side to face Australia in Adelaide this weekend as The Rugby Championship returns.
Head coach Jacques Nienaber said: Nienaber said: “We also feel it is important to give the likes of Ox [Nche], Joseph [Dweba] and Duane [Vermeulen] another opportunity to further build combinations and give them valuable game time as we build toward the Rugby World Cup next year.
“With Franco [Mostert] and Kwagga [Smith] on the bench, we will have cover at lock and loose forward, while Frans Steyn’s versatility will also be handy as he can cover centre and fullback. These changes obviously mean that Willie [le Roux], Jasper [Wiese] and Herschel [Jantjies] lose out, but we know what we have in them and what they bring to the team.”
South Africa: Damian Willemse; Warrick Gelant, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi; Handre Pollard, Faf de Klerk; Ox Nche, Joseph Dweba, Frans Malherbe; Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager; Siya Kolisi (C), Pieter-Steph du Toit, Duane Vermeulen.
Reps: Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Franco Mostert, Kwagga Smith, Jaden Hendrickse, Elton Jantjies, Frans Steyn.
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